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Wednesday, December 29, 2010

No that's not a sequel to the Al Pacino-Jamie Foxx snoozer, it describes what happened at Lincoln Financial Field tonight as the Minnesota Vikings waltzed in and stunned the playoff-bound Philadelphia Eagles, 24-14, with third-string quarterback Joe Webb at the controls.

Six months ago, tonight's Eagles-Vikings contest looked like a can't miss game but the 2010 Minnesota season quickly morphed into the living embodiment of Murphy's Law. Whether it was Brett Favre's sexting problem, Brad Childress' now legendary stubbornness or the Metrodome imploding just like the team's season, truly everything that could go wrong for the Vikings did and Minnesota had shown little fortitude in the face of all that adversity, checking out about three weeks ago.

Tonight, the Vikings limped into the Linc two days late thanks to the latest hurdle in their forgettable season, the City of Brotherly Love's 17th largest snowstorm that postponed the game for 48 hours. But, they strutted
out after Webb finished 17-of-26 for 195 yards and added another 31 rushing with a nine-yard TD in the NFL's first Tuesday game in 64 years.

"Just a great effort by our players. just battling through the things they had to battle through over the course of the week and showing the resiliency that has been a hallmark of this team," Vikings interim coach Leslie Frazier said. "We have a lot of confidence in Joe Webb. You just know he has the ability to make plays but to do it with consistency against a great team is what you don't know. He showed great composure and tremendous poise in the pocket. he shows the intangibles you look for at that position."

Adrian Peterson ran for 118 yards and a score, Percy Harvin had seven receptions for 100 yards and the Vikings defense recorded six sacks, including two by Antoine Winfield, on Michael Vick.

"[The Eagles] are a great football team. I can't say enough about our players attitude and approach this week," Frazier added. "We have been through a lot and they deserve to be rewarded for their resiliency."

Vick suffered a quad contusion on the opening offensive play of the game and was largely ineffective, finishing 25-of-43 for 263 yards with a TD and an interception along with two fumbles as the Eagles lost out on a chance to garner a first round bye.

"We're a much better football team than we displayed," Vick said. ""It starts with me. That interception and two costly fumbles, goes back to being disciplined. I've got to do a better job protecting the ball. That's my responsibility, and I didn't do it. That's what swung the momentum to the Vikings.''

"The more you watch tape the more you shake in your boots a bit," Frazier said of Vick. "We just felt we needed to attack him and the guys executed. Antonie Winfield was big. Our goal was to attack him and make him pause a bit."

In reality Vick's night could have been far worse. The Pro Bowler, who was hit 13 times, looked skittish all night and both former Eagle Lito Sheppard and Frank Walker both dropped rather easy interceptions, while DeSean Jackson prevented another by Jamarca Sanford.

""We have got to make sure when they blitz us we make plays," Eagles center Mike McGlynn added. "They came out blitzing and we just need to protect out quarterback. It wasn't our best game."